PHIL ORR: So we brought in, um, five partner agencies, um, laid out a kind of a draft scenario with them. We discussed it over a series of days, refined the plan, and ended up establishing the Restore the Dream Flood Recovery Network. So, there were originally five agencies, five sites; it eventually got expanded to six sites--one in Bellevue, with Catholic Charities; northwest Nashville, St. Luke’s Community Center; north Nashville, Bordeaux, that was hard hit, with McGruder-Matthew Walker partner; Salvation Army in Madison, and Connexion, that had a Antioch site.
So these sites, um, over the course of-- They got geared up in July, you know, a month and a half after the flood, well, two months after the flood, um, and they are still working. And over that period of time, they helped over 1200 families get back, get back into their homes, and get recovered, and we’re winding down that network; uh, by the end of this September, it’ll be pretty much concluded. And that 1200 represents 70% of the known families that needed case management, uh, work. So, you know, that was our contribution to, to the community to help with the flood.
PHIL MARTIN: You know, the only thing I would add to that is, I can remember that Monday morning after the--the rains really came Saturday and continued on Sunday, and everything began to rise--and even on Monday, we didn’t even know the full impact of, of the flood on the community. But I remember going over to the 2-1-1 Call Center; I remember that, that, you know, they couldn’t field the calls fast enough. The calls were just coming in, and, and people--I mean these were problems, everybody from, everything from people who, who needed--had lost--everything, and, and needed shelter and a place to lay their head, to people who were already strapped, uh, with their financial situations, just saying, “Hey, you know, I’ve lost my job--”
ORR: Yep.
MARTIN: “--and, because my employer’s out of business.”
ORR: Yeah, absolutely. That-- In fact, in May, in the month--well, you know, it was May 2nd, 3rd, uh, that the flood happened--but there were about 20,000 calls that came in to 2-1-1, and at least half of those were flood-related. In fact, I mean, that’s a great point, Phil, um...the 2-1-1 call operators (?really?) connecting people who were still trapped in their homes, and--I mean the floodwaters were there--and then connecting them with the sheriff’s office, so that they could have some kind of a response to get rescuers out there. And then it evolved, you know, over the days, to just the, the more, not the rescue needs as much as the, you know, “How am I going to, how am I going to get back in, to my house?” You know, “How am I going to get food for the next weeks?”